US prosecutors drop case against Armstrong/USPS

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MacRoadie

MacRoadie

Aug 3, 2009
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Berzin said:
The hope was to put enough pressure on him where he would settle and give evidence, but the pressure was based for the most part on the findings of the US Federal investigation, which doesn't seem likely to be shared with any overseas authorities.

The main stumbling block is they were not able to get any riders, either former or currently riding, to give evidence against him. Not one.
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Looks like Birotte is making friends everywhere...
 
Alpe d'Huez

Alpe d'Huez

Mar 11, 2009
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Berzin said:
The main stumbling block is they were not able to get any riders, either former or currently riding, to give evidence against him. Not one.
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Depends on what you consider "evidence". In most legal cases and trials, eyewitness testimony is considered one of the most powerful and reliable forms of evidence. Many, many people have been convicted on it alone, often by testimony from others under indictment, or suspicion (such as Floyd, or Tyler in this example), let alone those that aren't (such as Hincapie, O'Reilly, etc.).

I don't spent much time in the Clinic of late, but I imagine an attorney here can verify this with more clarity.
 
MacRoadie

MacRoadie

Aug 3, 2009
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Alpe d'Huez said:
I don't spent much time in the Clinic of late, but I imagine an attorney here can verify this with more clarity.
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If any of them were able to provide any clarity, this thread wouldn't have reached 140 pages...
 
BotanyBay

BotanyBay

Oct 25, 2010
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Benotti69 said:
Yaah sounds like the relief of dodging an atomic bomb :rolleyes:
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Like I said before. "Dancing With The Stars". He's the perfect candidate for this. Famous. A bit of a downfall (of sorts). Not going to jail. People have a short memory. Television takes advantage of that short memory. Heroes are built and rebuilt. And whammo. But come to think of it... Lance really has no interest in spending gobs of time with hot chicks a thousand miles away from his girlfriend. Nahhhhh.

dancing-with-the-stars.jpg
 
MarkvW

MarkvW

Aug 10, 2010
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I've always thought Ferrari a bigger fish than Armstrong (and Armstrong's a big fish). It saddens me that he might get a walk. Maybe they could at least get some restrictive conditions imposed on him that would hamper his ability to interact with racers.
 
BotanyBay

BotanyBay

Oct 25, 2010
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Berzin said:
The hope was to put enough pressure on him where he would settle and give evidence.
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I'm not sure if Joe Papp is yet at liberty to speak his mind about the power wielded by federal prosecutors, but I can assure you, you never want to find yourself in a situation where the weight of the federal gov's (limitless) resources is set upon you.

To have the resouces and fortitude to push back against that weight (at least in terms of "absolute vale") is (to say the least) impressive.
 
V

Velodude

Sep 5, 2009
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BotanyBay said:
Like I said before. "Dancing With The Stars". He's the perfect candidate for this. Famous. A bit of a downfall (of sorts). Not going to jail. People have a short memory. Television takes advantage of that short memory. Heroes are built and rebuilt. And whammo. But come to think of it... Lance really has no interest in spending gobs of time with hot chicks a thousand miles away from his girlfriend. Nahhhhh.

dancing-with-the-stars.jpg
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No chance. Armstrong would not get past the "audition" process.

He admits to having terrible hand/eye coordination. He would have two left feet.

Bicycle racing suited his clumsiness perfectly. Legs and arms anchored to the bike with the seat as a stabilizer.
 
BotanyBay

BotanyBay

Oct 25, 2010
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Velodude said:
No chance. Armstrong would not get past the "audition" process.

He admits to having terrible hand/eye coordination. He would have two left feet.

Bicycle racing suited his clumsiness perfectly. Legs and arms anchored to the bike with the seat as a stabilizer.
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They LOVE terrible-but-famous dancers. Heck, even "not-so-famous".

Chaz-Bono_320.jpg
 
M

Markyboyzx6r

Oct 30, 2010
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BotanyBay,

Dancing With The Stars? Never going to happen. Why? Simple reason. He's a c***, that much we do know - that quote about half of Austin hating him cause they've met him would be writ large on a series like that.

He is better to stick to adverts for Nike, Michelob etc and to public appearances in front of his adoring fans. If he was to go on DWTS, it could backfire massively on him. Let's face it, if we take away hairy-knuckled (allegedly) gay Hollywood comedians, there aren't that many people who've got a good word to say about him, and if the producer of DWTS was looking for an angle, they could expose him for the kind of bloke he actually is.

I think LA is better to stick to racing Ironman from now on. The triathlon crowd are for the most part thick as mince and buy the whole "miracles" story - lock, stock and barrel.

Remember, this is a guy who has sat on the side of dying cancer patients beds, and when asked "did you dope?" has told these poor suffering people "no". IF the general public get even an inkling into the duality of the man, him and his legacy will suddenly be seen in a different light.

I'd bet he'd go on it, though. Have you seen some of the women dancers? Oh my giddy aunt! Unbelievably fit.
 
Dr. Maserati

Dr. Maserati

BANNED
Jun 19, 2009
13,250
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Velodude said:
No chance. Armstrong would not get past the "audition" process.

He admits to having terrible hand/eye coordination. He would have two left feet.

Bicycle racing suited his clumsiness perfectly. Legs and arms anchored to the bike with the seat as a stabilizer.
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I reckon he could do quite well - hasn't he led the sport on a merry dance for decades?

I don't follow Dancing with Stars, but is there a pole dancing section and can you bring your own partner?
 
Polish

Polish

BANNED
Mar 11, 2009
3,853
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BotanyBay said:
I suppose you're right. But I've historically watched only for the dancing.

cheryl-burke.jpg
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I realize you are trying to "make a statement against the ads" with all your picture posting, but geez it is off topic and breaking up the flow of discussion.

I'm sorry but I had to report you to the authorities.
reported. sorry.
 
Hmmmmm

Hmmmmm

Jun 28, 2009
218
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Velodude said:
No chance. Armstrong would not get past the "audition" process.

He admits to having terrible hand/eye coordination. He would have two left feet.

Bicycle racing suited his clumsiness perfectly. Legs and arms anchored to the bike with the seat as a stabilizer.
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He actually admitted that? Oh my god! Unbelievable! :D
 
Stingray34

Stingray34

Feb 16, 2011
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MarkvW said:
People hate to see cheaters get away with it. We have all sorts of rationalizations that allow us to ignore cheating that is discreet and quiet, but we get really angry when it is right up in our face and we can't ignore it.

Lance is way up in our faces with his holier-than-thou cancer schtick, and he didn't just win, he dominated the TdF like no other. And it's all predicated on really sophisticated very long-term cheating. People see Lance get away with that and they feel powerless. And they get angry, and they want to see the SOB taken down.

And I'm not sure that the Lance-hate isn't relatively isolated to a subset of the small group of people who follow cycling. If you don't care much about cycling, then the cheating isn't in your face and you can conveniently ignore it.

If you want a good polarizing love-hate analogy, I suggest Nixon. He was a massively polarizing figure. Lots of politicians. Maybe Michael Jackson (many people continue to love his memory).

Another idea: People love to forgive fallen sports heroes. Sports is the same old dramas played out over and over and over again, and we never get tired of it. Struggle . . . Success . . . Victory . . . Loss . . . Resolution. Lance isn't giving us resolution--and we're frustrated. His personal sports drama isn't playing out according the normal script. He should have been caught, punished, forgiven and embraced long ago, but that hasn't happened. The Lance story is "stuck," and that is unusual. I can't think of any sports dramas that have dragged out like this one. Maybe the frustration caused by the delay is part of what you see?
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Very good post. Nice analysis.
 
Berzin

Berzin

Aug 6, 2009
2,111
7
11,495
Alpe d'Huez said:
Depends on what you consider "evidence". In most legal cases and trials, eyewitness testimony is considered one of the most powerful and reliable forms of evidence. Many, many people have been convicted on it alone, often by testimony from others under indictment, or suspicion (such as Floyd, or Tyler in this example), let alone those that aren't (such as Hincapie, O'Reilly, etc.).

I don't spent much time in the Clinic of late, but I imagine an attorney here can verify this with more clarity.
Click to expand...

Eyewitness testimony from individual riders who have enormous credibility issues isn't going to cut it. Not in the court of public opinion and not in a Federal case where a highly-paid defense attorney will spend most of his/her time attacking the character of someone like Landis and Hamilton. Their testimony would have been icing on the cake, but the important information would have to have come from Armstrong, Bruyneel or Ferrari. Or one of the doctors, but that seems as far-fetched as the Feds reopening the case.

I'm not dismissing the importance of eyewitness testimony, but there is a big difference between Landis and Hamilton and Ferrari.

Ferrari was the domino they expected to knock down, and maybe if the Feds went through with the investigation they might have been able to roll him, but not anymore.


MarkvW said:
I've always thought Ferrari a bigger fish than Armstrong (and Armstrong's a big fish). It saddens me that he might get a walk. Maybe they could at least get some restrictive conditions imposed on him that would hamper his ability to interact with racers.
Click to expand...

He's been working under such restrictions for years and it's never stopped him. Do some research and see for yourself if you want to know.
 
MarkvW

MarkvW

Aug 10, 2010
6,285
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17,485
Next, there will be a counterpetition urging the President to leave Lance alone. I wonder which one will get the most signatures?
 
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